1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of the present invention relates to an apparatus for charging and discharging, and more particularly, to an apparatus capable of performing initial charge and discharge of a battery while limiting the expansion of the battery regardless of the size of a battery such as a secondary battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, when an initial charge is performed for a closed secondary battery, a can of the secondary battery may expand. Therefore, an initial charge is necessarily performed for the closed battery in a non-charged state in order to limit the expansion of the battery. A waiting time period is required after the initial charging and discharging process is finished and before a following process starts, because the following process should start after the can of the battery becomes stabilized. When an expansion limiting member is used to limit the expansion of the battery, the expansion limiting member is required to be removed from the battery and the charged battery is required to be separated from an apparatus which charges the battery.
Therefore, operations before and after the charge and discharge of the battery are complicated, and the performing time for these operations is long. Hence, the productivity of the secondary battery is reduced. These disadvantages occur during a charging and discharge process and a high-temperature aging process as well as during an initial charging process.
In the case where a contemporary expansion limiting member is used to limit the expansion of the battery, when the can of the battery changes its thickness due to the charge and discharge of the battery, the battery cannot be easily inserted into an apparatus for charging the battery. Therefore, the entire apparatus for charging the battery is required to be replaced. In the field of medium-sized and large-sized battery modules used for electric automobiles or hybrid electric automobiles, on which many studies have been recently conducted, the sizes of batteries may vary for different manufacturers and for different models; therefore, a simplified standard operation and apparatus for limiting the expansion of the can of the battery and charging/discharging the battery is required.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.